Publishers and Users were granted access to the Guiana Shield Priority Setting Platform on World Environment Day 2015. As we celebrate World Environment Day 2015 under the theme “Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care”, the GSF is keen on operationalizing the GSPSP as an integrated, interdisciplinary platform to monitor the drivers of deforestation and to provide inputs for forest monitoring for Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES).

The organisations and users will now be able to log in to the platform to localize, analyse, visualise, monitor and exchange spatial and non-spatial information with a mission to contribute to the conservation of the Guiana Shield ecoregion's unique ecosystems and cultural diversity, and associated biodiversity and ecosystem services, through flexible delivery of financial, scientific and technical resources to the development at national and regional levels.

The GSPSP is based on ArcGIS Online for organisations and is a web based application that allows sharing of geographic information as well as access to content published by Esri, ArcGIS users and other providers. A user guide is available in the five languages of the Guiana Shield which provide step by step instructions to some basic ArcGIS online functions. A demonstration video can be accessed by clicking here.

The UN Secretary General in his message on this World Environment Day said “Humanity continues to consume far more natural resources than the planet can sustainably provide. Many of the Earth’s ecosystems are nearing critical tipping points. It is time for us to change.”

He posited that “in this year of transformation, when we hope to see great advances on sustainable development and climate change, let us celebrate World Environment Day by becoming more conscious of our ecological impact. Let us think about the environmental consequences of the choices we make. Let us become better stewards of our planet.”

The GSF therefore takes this opportunity to wish all GSPSP users and publishers well as they embark on sharing information via this platform in an effort to monitor the drivers of deforestation and work with GSF to promote conservation and support sustainable development.